According to data collected by the American Cancer Society, more than 1.43 million people in the United States were diagnosed with cancer in 2008. Although earlier diagnoses and improved treatments have allowed for modest increases in five-year survival rates, the overall mortality rate per 100,000 people has gone down only 5 percent since 1950 due to the increased incidence of several types of cancer over the same period (SEER Cancer Statistics Review 1975-2004, NCI “55-Year Trends in U.S. Cancer Death Rates”).
Research directed toward the mechanisms by which cancer cells proliferate and survive has implicated the deregulation of protein kinases. Therefore, methods of modulating or inhibiting kinase activity, including the use of small molecule agents, represent a promising direction in oncology drug development.
Thus, there remains a need for compounds that inhibit the activity of one or more protein kinases, as they can be expected to be useful in the treatment of cancer.